Yankees honor Gandolfini with moment of silence

By
Matt Weber
MLB.com

The Yankees paid tribute to actor James Gandolfini with a moment of silence prior to the team's 8-3 loss to the Rays on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

"The Sopranos" star and New Jersey native died on Wednesday while on vacation in Italy. He was 51. The exact cause of death is not yet known, but his managers indicated that it was possibly a heart attack.

In 2002, Gandolfini and "The Sopranos" co-stars Lorraine Bracco, Tony Sirico, John Ventimiglia and Steve Schirripa threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Yankees faced the White Sox in a matchup in the Bronx. Gandolfini was also asked by the club to recite a portion of Lou Gehrig's legendary farewell speech at Yankee Stadium that season.

Reds third baseman and New Jersey native Todd Frazier also found a way to honor Gandolfini on Thursday, when he chose "The Sopranos" theme song as his walk-up music during Cincinnati's 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh at Great American Ball Park.